Émile Gaillard (art collector)

Émile Gaillard (* 1821 in Grenoble , † 1902 in Paris ) was a French banker and art collector.

Life

Gaillard was the grandson of Théodore François Gaillard , a private banker and son of Théodore Eugène Gaillard , who was Mayor of Grenoble from 1858 to 1865. Émile Gaillard headed the Paris branch of the bank and dealt, among other things, with rail finance.

But he was also a friend of art and artists. Frédéric Chopin dedicated the Mazurka in A minor KK II b No. 5 to “son ami Emile Gaillard” , which was published posthumously without an opus number.

Gaillard built up an important collection of medieval and Renaissance art and in 1878 acquired a plot of land in the Plaine Monceau area , where he had Jules Février build the Hôtel Gaillard , a city palace in the style of Louis XII . The inauguration of the house took place in 1885 - the Gaillard family received their guests in Renaissance costumes.

Gaillard and Amélie Vassal had five children. After his death, the private bank was sold to the Crédit Lyonnais bank , and the art collection was auctioned off piece by piece in 1904. The Hôtel Gaillard did not find a buyer until 1919, namely the Banque de France . This is currently expanding the house into a museum and event location. The Cité de l'Economie et de la Monnaie is due to open in autumn 2014.

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• Short biography